Baked Orange Chicken and Potatoes

Ingredients

• 2 cups orange juice ((freshly squeezed from about 6 oranges is preferred; store bought OJ may be substituted))
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves (finely minced (or 1 teaspoon garlic powder, or to taste))
• 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 pounds Yukon Gold or yellow potatoes (diced into 1/2-inch pieces (peeled if desired, read the FAQs for potato swaps))
• 4 medium chicken quarters

Instructions

1. 1

   Preheat oven to 400F and spray the baking dish with cooking spray, if desired; set aside.

2. 2

   To a medium bowl, add the OJ, oil, garlic, salt, pepper, and whisk to combine; set aside momentarily.

3. 3

   Scatter the potatoes over the baking dish. Tip - Make sure the potatoes are cut in 1/2-inch or bite-sized pieces. If they're too big, they won't cook through in the alloted baking time. Hard potatoes are the worst so avoid big potato pieces.

4. 4

   Add the chicken to the baking dish, nestling it down into the potatoes.

5. 5

   Evenly pour the OJ mixture over everything and bake for about 50-60 minutes, or as needed until it's done (watch your chicken, not what the clock says). Baking time will vary on the size of your chicken, potatoes, your oven and baking pan, climate, etc. If desired, you can flip and toss the potatoes around a bit midway through the cooking process to help ensure even cooking. Baking Tips - Chicken is technically done when it reaches 165F, but for dark meat I like cooking it to 170-175F to make it more tender with that falling off the bone mouthfeel. Use a digital thermometer! Do not guess! If for some reason the chicken is getting a bit too browned on the outside but the inside isn't quite done, drape a sheet of foil over the top of your baking dish in the final 10-15 minutes of baking. If the skin isn't as crispy as you'd like, you can broil the chicken for a couple minutes, noting that the sugar in the OJ will be very prone to burning so you need to keep a very watchful eye on it if you decide to broil. I don't personally find it necessary, but am mentioning it.

6. 6

   Optionally garnish with fresh herbs if desired and serve immediately.